Getting started with Chord
Install the beta, make your first profile, and get a feel for the app in a few minutes.
Last updated October 23, 2026
Chord is a local-first, native macOS app. There is no account to create, no cloud sync, and no bank login — you download it, open it, and your data stays on your Mac in a single SQLite file.
What you need
- A Mac running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.
- Your bank's QFX export, if you want to import statements right away. Any Canadian bank that can export QFX will do.
- Optional: your own market-data key (Alpha Vantage or Marketstack) if you want live prices and ticker search. See Market-data keys.
Download and install
- Download the latest build.
- Open the
.dmgand drag Chord into your Applications folder. - Eject the disk image, then open Chord from Applications.
Chord is Developer ID-signed, notarized, and stapled, so it opens without a Gatekeeper workaround. If macOS ever blocks it, delete the app and download a fresh copy rather than reaching for a right-click-open trick.
Chord is in beta, so it is free to use while beta lasts.
First launch
The first launch asks you to accept the Chord License Agreement. Accepting is what enables the menu commands — import, export, new, and the rest.
Make your first profile
Chord keeps up to three profiles — think of each as its own set of books, with its own database file. A new install starts with one.
When you create one you choose a name, an avatar (a symbol and colour, or an uploaded image), and a default reporting currency (CAD or USD). The default currency is what net worth, allocation, and reports are shown in; individual accounts keep their own currency regardless, so a CAD profile can still hold a USD account. Profiles, appearance and themes covers the rest.
Your starter chart of accounts
A fresh profile is seeded with a Canadian starter chart:
| Type | Accounts |
|---|---|
| Assets | Chequing, Savings |
| Liabilities | Credit Card |
| Equity | Opening Balances |
| Income | Salary, Other Income |
| Expenses | Groceries, Shopping, Dining, Transport, Housing & Utilities, Subscriptions, Health & Medical, Uncategorized |
Rename, add, or delete categories as your own spending takes shape. Imported lines never land in Uncategorized on their own — anything a rule can't place waits for you in the review queue.
A quick tour
| Section | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Home | One net-worth figure combining cash, liabilities, and investments at market value |
| Accounts | Your chart of accounts and the register for each account |
| Holdings | Investments and crypto, with prices and allocation |
| Reports | Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow |
| Budget | Monthly budget vs. actual by expense category |
| Import | Import a QFX file and route its lines |
| Rules | Rules that categorise imported transactions automatically |
| FX | Exchange rates used for CAD/USD |
Your first ten minutes
- Accept the license and create your profile.
- Press ⌘I, choose the account, and import one month of QFX from your bank.
- Route anything a rule couldn't place, then Confirm.
- Open Home (⌘1) to see your net worth; open Reports (⌘4) for the Balance Sheet.
- Optional: add a holding in Holdings (⌘3) and a price key in Settings ▸ Developer to see investments in the total.
Where to go next
- Importing a QFX file from your bank — get your first month in.
- Accounts, holdings, and balances — make sense of the numbers.
- The command palette and keyboard shortcuts — move without the mouse.
- What net worth means in Chord.
Still stuck?
Email [email protected] with your macOS version and what you were doing when the problem happened.